12 comments:

Nationalism is a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, in the case of Eelam, it is like telling Jews and Germans to live together in one country. The Eelam Tamils have lost that much, have felt that much oppression. To go separate is the harder path. Yet, if 90% of Tamils want it, then why are they being forced by international community to stay within an oppressing regime? Tamil history is as old or older in the island as any other.

Sir, India may have it's own problems. The East doesn't feel wanted. The West feels neglected. The South feels discriminated and Madrasee is as hated a word as Paki. India's internal communal issues isn't any excuse for Eelam Tamils to be oppressed from self-governance.

BTW, to fight against discrimination, to defend your people from violence, to want self-determination, is no crime nor does one need have superior racial feelings.

-kajan

P.S. It's strange how discrimination and oppression is only felt when it happens to oneself, but is looked at with indifference when it is happening to others.

my opposition to LTTE and even Eelam has nothing to do with India's stand on the issue. I even support Kashmir's (valley alone) independence from India as long as they shun violence.

in anycase, I have no problem if Lankan tamils fight for their causes non-violently. let them even get their Eelam, if they can convince the world.

but i maintain that Eelam tamils have vastly exaggerated the injustice done to them, have mostly used disproportionate violence after a token non-violent resistance and are as racist as the sinhalas, if not more.

and supporting the LTTE is the worst thing Indian Tamils can do the Lankan Tamils.

>> BTW, to fight against discrimination, to defend your people from violence, to want self-determination, is no crime nor does one need have superior racial feelings.

how does this apply to Indian tamils? For us, Lankan Tamils and Sinhalese are both foreigners fighting in their own country. We cannot support Lankan Tamils simply bcoz they speak our language. Thats a fit case of racism.

Ealam Tamils'"sufferings" are just pure manipulations of LTTE and their propaganda machines...Their story about IPKF's mass raping is pure fabrication (noone denies the rapings but not to the extent ltte is promoting)now ltte and their supporters want Tamil Nadu people to go against their govts and make a mess of their livlyhood

Non-violence doesn't work everywhere. An example is the Banda-Selva pact. The pact virtually gives nothing to tamils (the major thing is Tamils are allowed to use tamil as a language in north and east!), still Bandaranayaga had withdrawn the pact due to the pressure from sinhalese. Despite the withdrawal of the pact, Bandaranayaga was killed by budhist monk for signing a pact with Selva. Having a conversation with Tamils itself was considered as crime and the President was killed. Therefore, Non-violence have not worked and will not work in srilanka. Mahatma Gandhi said "you can't fast against tyrants". Gandhi used fasting as weapon against British and He could suceed because it was British. Dileepan used fasting as weapon and died! Mistake was Dileepan's, because he was fasting against tyrants! My name is Krishnamoorthy

Why do you think Fasting is the only form of non-violent protest? Do you think India won freedom because of Gandhi's fasting? Infact Gandhi fasted more often against Indians than against the British. He used fasting as means to pacify Indians.

Civil disobedience movement, active non-violent resistance (like Quit India) etc are the way forward. It has worked elsewhere too. Martin Luther King made Blacks to take to the streets to get the Civil Rights act.

Massive people's movements are the order of the day. East Timor, Ukraine, many latin american countries have seen mass mobilization.

Even as recently as last year, the non-violent marches in Kashmir got widespread support in India. Although trivial, a poll on CNN-IBN after that Kashmiri protest, found more than 50% of the Indian audience supporting Kashmiri Indepedence.

And some of that Kashmiri crowd which marched against India also turned up to vote last month. That is the kind of confidence, that earns respect even from the opponents.

Lankan Tamils can very well co-operate with the government to crush the LTTE and go back to non-violent protests against the govt, if they want to.

The idea that "Lankan Tamils and Sinhalese are both foreigners fighting in their own country" surely seems to be a regard harboured by certain media majority communities. The struggle for Eelam separation starting with Indian root, well supported by Indians. That Indian Tamils have always supported Eelam Tamils can be easily verified if you flip through history books, unadulterated by those with vested interests. I say unadulterated, because it is no secret that some media outlets in TN want people to see only an angle that they favour. It is clear that you don't support Eelam Tamils. But why shouldn't Indian Tamils. Look back at the history of the world. If not for who they were, would North America fought in the European wars. To say that one shouldn't care for their own community simply because they have lived in a different country for millenias is incomprehensible. How is that racism? The statement makes the entire NRI concept laughable. Are Indians in the global world soon supposed to disassociate themselves with Indian conflicts simply because they are born nationals of another country? The average Tamil in this global world, living anywhere from Malaysia to Norway to down in Australia, is extremely concerned and affected, their only agony is that of 'helplessness'.

You maintain that Eelam Tamils have vastly exaggerated the injustice done to them? Quite as easy as telling the world that the Jews have vastly exaggerated the injustice done to them in World War 2. The only difference between the genocide of Jews and the 30 year violence on Tamils and the Srilankan governments current pogrom on Tamils is that there has been continual media blackout. Resisted by government internationally, and very well voluntarily by Indian media. If mass murders, rapes, tortures and random killngs of a community, simply for belonging to that community is called exaggeration, I am not sure what qualifies for balance in your dictionary. The world knows that 90% of Tamils want sovereignity of some form. Unless those stating LTTE are claiming that 90% of an estimated 3 million Eelam Tamils are LTTE; we can conclude that the people want self-governance. It is not about convincing the world. It is all about political manhandling, and Eelam Tamils are a victim.

Your arguments don't hold sense. Let it be that the foundation of your arguments are that 'violence' is being used. Now tell me, do you think all those young men and women who took up arms wanted to die? In either side. A 30 year struggle with nonviolent moves ended in nothing but murders, harassments, and discriminations of all kinds. Eelam Tamils struggles began long before LTTE. In India, at one time, Gandhi's fasting may have worked to pressure governments for his political and symbolic power. For me, Martin Luther King may be a great inspiration. Unfortunately, Eelam Tamils have neither the political power or the people power to enforce pressure nationally, let alone internationally. In Srilanka, a fasting till death would mean just another way of Tamil deaths. Preaching nonviolence is excellent. It is your opponent who decides what weapons you take. Srilanka decided that long before any militant resistance was formed by the Tamils. And yet, even with their violence, enough international committees have accepted the fact that what is happening in Eelam is a freedom struggle.

Unfortunately, political interests of powerful nations seem to be more important than the lives of a few million Tamils.

Hmmm... so the deal is basically hatred for LTTE. While Eelam Tamils talk about freedom, the other side just want military destruction. Saying the stories of IPKF is manipulation is a nice way to ward off any guilt. Can the same be used for accusations against LTTE?:-) The stories about IPKF misconduct while in Srilanka can be heard from people who dislike LTTE even. Why go as far as over the sea. Look northeast, most Indians don't... you can hear the stories of the people in that part of India. And the Srilankan armies conducts related to discrimination have famously been framed out by international media.

The LTTE have been accepted by the Eelam people as legal organization. There is no denying that Srilanka has stopped short of total destruction simply due to the presence of LTTE. Otherwise, who knows, it might be Hitler's Germany on Jews. And just like now, everyone will have an excuse to why they turned a blind eye. Good, excuses make men, apparently.

India may have won independence by massive movements and civil disobedience(nice propaganda). I love the attributes paid about civilized behaviour. But it remains that those that gained independence by nonviolence, sure had an unforgettably violent Partition, with more than 3 million lives lost. That may seem miniscule on the scale for you all, but not to me. Not too much exaggeration? Every life is precious, regardless of race, and to be killed for political and racial domination is disgusting and unhumane. That is what is happening to Eelam Tamils. Yet, apparently, one must bow their heads and be killed rather than using the same method to fight against discrimination if they live in any other region. Sure wonder why their are army's and policing, etc. To protect? Well, in Srilanka, Tamils need to be protected from the Army and Police!

Civil disobedience and massive people's movement may be the order of the day, but in Eelam, they are recipe for bombs and shootouts. Whose to blame anyone who doesn't believe. After all, each one and his own stomach:-) That's the actual order of the day. There is nothing that has not been tried nonviolently.

Regardless, I have found that it is fruitless to argue with those that have set their minds. It is easier to get upset about South India being discriminated, community-based discrimination, racism in the west, etc, then feeling concern for those that you are indifferent about.

If you want to compare the Jewish sufferings in Europe and that of the Tamils in Lanka, then I must seriously suspect your reading of history.

Also do not use the treatment of the Tamils in the last 20 years as metric. In the last 20 years most Eelam Tamils can be classified as terrorists, traitors at worst and separatists at best. Any armed force which goes into such a region will only have contempt and disregard for such people. Afterall IPKF wasn't any better than SLA, was it?

briefs on your other points:

Jews: despite their sufferings I believe Zionism was completely unjustified and I support a unified Palestinian state for both Jews and Arabs in place of the current Jewish state of Israel.

NRIs: India cannot interfere in the internal matters of other countries unless the NRIs are suffering in their home countries by being labeled as Indians. While I endorse India's intervention in support of Indian Tamils (Hill people) in Sri Lanka (they were dis-enfranchised in the 60s), I do not support Indian intervention in Malaysia or Fiji. In any case Lankan Tamils are not NRIs.

>> The struggle for Eelam separation starting with Indian root, well supported by Indians. That Indian Tamils have always supported Eelam Tamils can be easily verified if you flip through history books

you are only strengthening my argument that Indian Tamils only have a racist motive in supporting Eelam.

>> To say that one shouldn't care for their own community simply because they have lived in a different country for millenias is incomprehensible.

its a classic definition of racism. being from the same community is more important than the correctness of the issue?

i can understand if Indian muslims support Palestine bcoz there is a legitimate reason and many Indians irrespective of religion will support Palestine. But Indian muslims cannot use that reason to support Hamas or Al-Qaeda.

>> Eelam Tamils have neither the political power or the people power to enforce pressure nationally

dude. Blacks even today constitute less than 10% of US population. With that they got the Civil Rights act passed and today their whole country is going crazy about Obama's swearing in. By contrast Lankan Tamils were nearly 25% at the time of Independence and now about 13% and you claim you have no power. Don't blame your lack of self-confidence on the the Sinhalese.

>> And yet, even with their violence, enough international committees have accepted the fact that what is happening in Eelam is a freedom struggle.

really? which one?

and btw do you know how Lanka put down the communist JVP movement and muslim separatism? So Sinhalese have no special hatred for Tamils. They have been even-handed if I may say so.

- If you think the genocide ot Tamils and Jewish sufferings or any other genocide is different, then I can only say that I can suspect only your motives of argument. Frankly, if not for militancy, I can very well say that Tamils would have been quietly wiped out. After all, check the media coverage on the current Gaza issue and the Tamil genocide. I need not say more. In the last 20 years, Eelam Tamils can be classified as freedom fighters. Terrorism? I have already answered. Your oppressors determine your method. State terrorism resulted in militant groups forming.

- My personal believe has always been that armed forces were there to protect people, regardless of who they are. I am sure your "Any armed force which goes into such a region will only have contempt and disregard for such people. Afterall IPKF wasn't any better than SLA, was it?" would be a wonderful argument by Bush to dismiss the charges of atrocities in countries like Iraq. I suppose that would be the argument for the abuses on Eastern Indians as well. Good one. And you can call enough people from the Independence fighters in India as 'traitors' to British Raj, terrorist threats, and rebels. I actually believe that the British used some of the terms in history books. But I believe you all are making films about the same rebels and handing out national awards . What say? Afterall, Mohandas Gandhi was but one factor in a freedom struggle that had many frontiers. It all depends on your outlook. I am not sure that I would be able to convince since I am dealing here with mindsets where the killing of thousands in places like, Mumbai, Punjab, Gujurat etc, largely go unpunished or covered. Yet, the LTTE is called terrorists:-)

- Oh so, in other words, Tamils can't interfere with the sufferings of other Tamils, yet NRIs suffering in other countries can get the help because they are labelled Indian. Great logic. In other words, North America shouldn't have gone to war because the great empire was at war? It was racist of the English descendents to run across the globe. Yet, what kind of a world would you and I be living in? African Americans shouldn't worry about the Africans dying in the African subcontinent, as it is no concern of theirs?

Don't know when the term NRI was coined. But Eelam has been around much longer and is certainly not NRI. It's sad that you have to refer to Indians in SL as hill people:-) And Punjabi's in India certainly won't feel attached to the nearly 1 million in Northern America(not NRIs, been here for generations) or vice-versa. I am sure of that. Except, you see, that's highly unlikely, considering the close-ties that are prevalent. A country divided by languages, where each state is vying against one another based on their language. Yet, its the Tamil that is racist, when he speaks up for other Tamils.

- You are supporting my believe that your believes are not objective, but on a racial motive of your own, combined with your dislike not for armed militancy, but for LTTE. The LTTE has been accepted by the people as a legal component. It is those that don't like them, that sees them differently. To the people, they are but an army of theirs. You are stepping back and forth. You can understand that Indian muslims will support Palestine, b/c there is a legitimate reason? That being? So is it possible that you will accept if Indian Hindus support Eelam Hindus?:-) What is wrong in many Tamils irrespective of religion supporting Eelam Tamils? Your case is that while Muslims can feel for Muslims, a Tamil person can't feel for another? Draw out wether an 'ism' of some form is not present in your argument?

- I am not sure if you have read the same history books as I, or studied the same history. But does your math add up? Predominantly, Tamils live in regions separated by the sinhalese population, which has helped in those areas not being as severely affected, barring economically. Three million in the north and to the east. Its been a great help in keeping the world out.

- Now, judging from the fact that you and I are aware of the same circumstances, here is stats: American Blacks constitute about 40 million in a population of over 300 million. During the African American movement, most Blacks, and even today are situated in the South. And frankly, the oppression of African Americans at that time, was largely, based in the South! Do you think they couldn't have made an impact. Added to the fact that, a sizable portion of the upper states were open to the movement, we have an entirely different scenario.

- Are you telling me that the struggle and the victory was even comparable? Where does confidence come in? Are you blind to what's happening there right now? You think Srilanka even has the capability to fight LTTE without the aid of India and others? Without the curtaining of so called "Terrorism"? Don't we know that India is aiding the killing of Tamils, for she fears that Srilanka will join with Pakistan or China? I certainly don't envy India. But killing Tamils... Today, where are the stories of all the thousands of Eelam Tamils around the world, marching and protesting. It's happening, yet blacked out. Confidence to survive is there in every person who was able to escape. Who started from scratch working odd jobs, and has made the name Eelam recognizable in the world arena. Confidence is there that one day justice will be served. One day, the Eelam Tamils will make movies just as the Jews and African Americans have. One day, the truth will come to light about the struggle, about the losses. Lack of self-confidence is not there in Tamils:-) There are those that went to foreign countries in the 90s with polished educations. And then there are those that went to survive an ethnic cleansing. And the ones that went for survival without any idea, those are the ones that had confidence to get up, even when the whole world looked at their existence as trivial.

You don't need to tell me that the SL government's cruelty is not handed differently to different groups. I get news on that first hand sir.

India has proved that she can't help the Tamils. But at least, let them defend themselves. But India went and joined hands with SL to kill Tamils, supply warfare. Democracy is a well preached and well-ointed words for print and publicity. It's real meaning was lost long back. In any case, to learn more, you just need to read beyond the hate propaganda, if you are willing. Probably not.

Eelam Tamils have a dream too sir.

Like I said, everyone feels their own pain. Unfortunate, but true. Yet to watch, aid and gloat while people 20kms are being killed...hmmm.

-Kajan

P.S. Good reading though, teaches about the mindset of the world, especially where racism is prevalent.

Mr.Balaji,loving your language and homeland and showing concern for your kith and kin is not racism.French love their language,malayalis love their language,scotmen love their land .These are all accepted norms.loving Tamil language is not 'mozhi veri'Forcing your culture and your language on some one else is racism,showing violence against other race is racism not loving your race.Trying to destroy an other ethinic nation and their right to self determination is racism.Grabbing their land illegally is racism.sinhala govt is a racist govt.Tamils are fighting against this racist govt .anyway you know all these facts.I know the motive behind your writings and to which group you belong.Thinking that they are somewhat superior than others is the mother of all chuvinisms,I know that is your ideological basis for your muttering.After all you are motivited by your caste which is unacceptable in a civilised society.

Eelam tamil tamils are motiveted by our common language,culture,homeland and history.which is acceptable in a civilised society.If ethno linguistic identity is not acceptable,it can be argued identity of common natinality is also somewhat non acceptable in the context of globilisation.We are all human beings ,why do we need countries which are the geographical man made boundaries?